A Past Not Forgotten
by InvisibleSpotlight
Summary: When tragedy strikes the Pataki family, the whole town is striken with grief. How could something like this happen in their small community? How will Arnold and the gang react when they realize they may never see thier friend/bully again?
1. Chapter 1

A blood curdling scream echoed through the house as a terrified preteen bound down the stairs two at a time.

"GET BACK HERE" the man roared, following close behind her

She slid around the corner and into the pantry closing the door all but a crack. She watched as the man ran past the door, determined to catch her.

"Bob, what on earth is all the noise?" Miriam complained, stepping out of the kitchen.

The hiding girl heard a loud thud as Bob slammed Miriam into the wall next to the pantry. "Where did she go?" he snarled at his wife "Where is Helga?"

"I didn't see her Bob, what the hell is going on?"

"Liar! She ran through here!"

Helga peered through the crack in the door, just as Bob was pressing a knife blade against her mother's throat.

"I swear I didn't see her." Miriam choked as the blade dug into her skin.

"Well I see you've made your decision, you're going to protect that little slut!" Bob spat. Helga shielded her eyes; she knew something bad was going to happen.

Miriam let out a ragged cry as Bob dragged the blade across her throat. Bob then proceeded to stab Miriam multiple times, she cried out with each stab, until finally she stopped making sound. Helga heard the sickening sound as her mother's body slid down the wall, and laid to rest lifelessly in the hall way.

After Helga had heard Bob's footsteps descend down the hallway, she slowly opened the pantry and bolted for the door. She almost threw up when she had to jump over her mother's lifeless form. As Helga's hand made it to the door knob she heard the loud crack of a gun. Bob was behind her. She just knew it; he was going to shoot her. So Helga ran. She ran, and she never once looked back.

She ran in a daze until she reached the Hilwood county bus station, she couldn't remember how or why she had arrived here of all places, but she decided to go with it. She needed to get far away from Bob, and a train ride would do just that.

The blonde fished in her pockets and came up with 31 dollars and 76 cents. Good thing she had forgotten to pay her lunch money this morning. "How far will $20 get me?" She asked the attendant at the counter.

"Are you old enough to be riding alone?" the lady eyed her suspiciously.

"Of course, I'm 16, if I can drive a car, I'd imagine I'd be old enough to ride in one." Helga lied with a convincing smile. This lady didn't need to know that she had barely just turned twelve.

"Well ok then." The lady checked her itinerary. "We have a train leaving in an hour for Boston…and um…one in ten minutes that leaves for Cincinnati."

"Cincinnati sounds great." Helga grabbed her ticket and stopped at the coke machine before sitting in the waiting area. The girl sipped her coke slowly, stopping every few moments to suspiciously look around. She was shaking, and she knew she looked a mess. She only had to keep it together for a few more minutes, and then she would have plenty of time to break down on the train.

"Now loading H-19 bound for Ohio" She rose to her feet and made her way to the loading gate, it was 1 am, and not many people were traveling." Once on board she made her way to the bathroom.

"If I'm going to stay hidden from Bob" She rambled to herself, "I'm going to need to change my appearance." She took down her pig tails and ruffled her hair, letting it fall down smoothly against her back. She scrunched her face in the mirror, looking at her features. "Tomorrow I'm going to have to fix this eyebrow."

When she returned to her seat, she collapsed. She looked around, making no one was near enough to see, then she cried. She cried hard, until she couldn't cry anymore. After what seemed like an hour, she drifted off into a restless sleep.

~*~*~*~

"Gerald, we're supposed to be studying physics. Turn the T.V. off!" Arnold commanded from the other room.

Gerald rolled his eyes as he flipped through the channels. He paused when he realized that all the local stations were broadcasting the same thing. He turned the volume on and sat up, interested as the flashing red and blue lights lit up the screen.

"To recap on the horrific events that have unfolded here tonight, Authorities were called to the Pataki residence at approximately 12:42 this morning." The reporter began standing in front of a door, which was blocked off with yellow police tape. "Neighbors reported hearing the screaming of a young girl, which prompted them to call 911. What the police found upon entering the residence…"

"Arnold, you need to come in here. This is something you need to hear." Gerald urged.

"Seriously Gerald, I'm not interested in watching South Park, we really need to study." Arnold said as he rounded the corner, snacks in hand. However, when his eyes met the television screen, he dropped the bowl he was carrying, scattering chex mix across the living room. "Gerald, that's Helga's house!"

"This really was a gruesome scene, something out of a horror film." The reporter continued. "Bob and Miriam Pataki, both dead and the too young age of 35. Their 12 year old daughter Helga, nowhere to be found. Investigators on the scene assure us that they will be investigating every possible lead; however it seems that this was the result of a murder-suicide. But the big question now is where is Helga Pataki?"

Gerald clicked off the TV. "Do you think she….that she…"

"I don't know man…" Arnold replied stunned. "I hope that she's ok."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N…I could have sworn that this story had more chapters, oh well. I don't really remember where I was going with this, but I've decided to continue solely based on the number of "favorite story" alerts I've gotten over the past couple of weeks.

Basically the story up past chapter three is going to be back story. Starting chapter 4 I will be fast forwarding to 16 year old Helga. I'm trying to slow things down because I tend to speed up to the parts I'm excited about writing. =) This one is kind of boring, but it's necessary.

Here is chapter 2, hope you enjoy.

~*~*~

It was late September, a chilly night to be on the streets. Helga made her way from the bus station, passing barred up liquor stores and sketchy looking buildings as she made her way down the sidewalk.

She rubbed her arms trying to warm them with friction as she worked on formulating her next steps. She's alive, but now she's all alone. As mediocre of a mother as Miriam had been, at least Helga hadn't needed to fend for herself.

18 hours. It had been 18 hours since all hell broke loose. The sun was beginning to set along the western skyline .

"What to do Pataki, What to do?" She mumbled to herself.

She had spent most of the day on a bench outside of the bus station, having arrived in Cincinnati early in the afternoon.

A loud crash emitted from the alley she was passing, causing her heart to jump almost out of her chest. She looked around frantically, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw a rat scurry across the street.

"Happy to see a rat?! Come on Helga ol' girl get a hold of yourself."

She surveyed the area before entering the alley. About thirty steps in, Helga climbed to the landing of a fire escape. It wasn't the ideal place to spend the night, but the walls blocked the wind.

She pulled her memo pad from her pocket.

_Dear makeshift Diary,_

_I'm not sure how I got into this mess. One minute I'm getting ready to spend the night at Phoebe's. The next minute Bob is going postal. It's not like I didn't see this coming. He has been on edge for a couple of weeks now, snapping every time I would look at him wrong. I just never thought it would get this bad. The last thing I really remember was asking him if I could have $15 so me and Phoebs could order pizza. The next thing I know I'm getting a lecture about how he isn't my money tree. Fast forward 5 minutes, Miriam is dead and I'm hiding in a closet. I really don't know where to go from here. Is Bob still after me? _

Helga closed the notebook and shoved it back in her pocket. She pulled the hood of her sweat shirt up and leaned against the damp brick wall. This was going to be a long night.

~*~*~*~*~

Helga awoke with a jolt to the sound of an ambulance siren whizzing by.

"Too jumpy Pataki" she thought as she checked the time on her cell phone. 4:57 am. She climbed down two stories worth of ladder before jumping the last few feet to the ground. Her stomach grumbled. It had been almost two days since she had eaten anything substantial.

Checking her pockets she produced the last of her money. $10 and some change…that had to last her until God knows when. Her flip flops clicked against the sidewalk as she searched for somewhere to get some food. A 24 hour convenience store's neon signs caught her attention.

Sliping through the glass doors, a jingle of bells notified the cashier of her arrival.

"Can I help you miss?" the man greeted her.

"Uh..no I…I'm just getting my caffeine fix.." she walked through the aisles appearing to browse as she filled the front pocket of her hoodie with candy bars and bags of mixed nuts. Her last stop was the soda fountain, where she filled up a 44oz glass with coke.

She went to the counter to pay for her drink, trying her best not to act nervous.

"$1.05" the cashier stated.

She counted out her change and slid it across the counter, before turning to flee the store.

~*~*~

Back at the fire escape landing, Helga counted out her loot. 2 Snickers, a bag of skittles, 4 bags of beer nuts and a weight watchers meal bar. It wasn't much, but it would keep her stomach from throbbing. She tore a bag of nuts open with her teeth.

20 minutes later she had eaten over half of the food, stashing the rest back into her pocket for later.

_Dear Makeshift diary,_

_ I stole today. For the first time in my life, I took something without paying. It was kind of a rush, I was sure I was going to get caught. I can't say that I want to experience that again. I just hope I can figure out something soon, street life isn't something that I want to delve too much into._

The days were starting to all blurr together, she found herself on the swing set of a local park as the sun began to set.

She always knew her life was bad, but she never imagined herself becoming a petty criminal.

"Miss?" a young man approached her, he couldn't be older than 20.

"What do you want?" Helga snapped. She couldn't imagine this ending well.

"I'm with the Lighthouse group for runaway teens. Is there anything I can get you…water, food, a shower?"

Helga gaped up at him. " A shower… I'd love a shower."

"Is it really that bad?" He asked

"You have no idea." She responded simply.

~**~*~**~*~**~

"Attention class!" Mr. Simmons announced frantically "There is a serious matter that we need to discuss."

Phoebe shifted in her seat. She knew where this was going. The police had questioned her all weekend. She wondered how many other people knew. Her best friend had vanished without a trace; obviously she was the person that should know what had happened. And because she didn't know, something really bad must have happened.

"Detective Hicks would like to have a few words with you" He stated, motioning to the uniformed officer to his side. "But first I would like to speak."

Mr. Simmons scanned the class as he began his speech, which had obviously been rehearsed. "I'm not sure how many of you have watched the news this weekend, but Friday night a member of our class faced a great deal of tragedy. Looking at the only empty seat in the room, it isn't hard to guess that the student was Helga Pataki. Between late Friday night and early Saturday morning, there was a murder suicide that took place in Helga's home. Both of her parents are deceased. The reason that we wanted to speak with you is that no one seems to know where Helga is." He motioned for the officer to take over.

"Students," The officer began." I know that all of this news must come as a shock to you. This being such a tight community, it is hard to imagine this type of tragedy occurring. I want to let each and every one of you know that our main concern right now is bringing Helga home. If any of you know anything, please let us know."

A small hand shot up from the back of the class. The officer nodded at the student, permitting her to speak.

"I just want to know," the high pitched voice began. " If you think she's st… still…still alive." Pheobe broke off into a sob.

"I'm sorry miss, but at this point we just don't know. We know the first 72 hours are the most crucial when dealing with lost or abducted children."

Across the room the preteens were exchanging somber glances.

"Do you think she's really the killer?" Rhonda whispered loudly to Nadine. "I mean, that would explain why no one can find her right? She's probably hiding so she doesn't go to jail."

"Don't start Rhonda, you know she isn't like that. She's scared, she might even be hurt and you want to sit here and make up stories?" The football headed boy snapped from the seat behind her.

"Whoa, calm down Arnold. What's got your panties in a bunch? Its not like anyone really liked her that much anyway…well…except for phoebe that is." She responded, glancing at the sniffling Asian girl.

"Seriously pull yourself out of Rhondaland and take a look at what has happened. If it was you're family, or even your friends' families, how would you be feeling right now?" Arnold tried to reason with her.

"Things like that don't happen to people with money Arnold. We leave that to the trailer trash."

"Too bad all that money will never be able to buy you a heart." Arnold stated, giving up trying to talk to her.

Rhonda scoffed and returned to her previous conversation with Nadine.

Arnold shook his head and turned to Gerald. "All of this is just so crazy. I mean, Three days ago she was sitting right here with us and now…who knows?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Ok so I lied…I couldn't wrap up everything in this chapter…I know that chapter 4 is going to still be the 12 year old version of Helga….I'm not sure if that chapter will conclude that time period or not…I guess we'll see. =) Please review, it encourages me to write.

~*~*~*~

After a quick van ride, Helga found herself in a homeless shelter designed for teenagers.

"Ok miss, uh.."

"Hel…Helia, My name is Helia"

"Ok then Helia, The wash room is the third door to the left" he began, pointing down the hallway. " Towels and toiletries can be found before you enter the shower room. There are also some generic clothes, T-shirts and sweat pants which you can borrow after your shower. When you are finished you can put your clothes down the chute and they'll be washed and ready for you in about an hour."

"Thank you" Helga said simply, blinking the quickly forming tears from her eyes. She wasn't quite sure when she had turned into such a cry baby, but she also wasn't quite sure when the idea of a shower became the best thing in the world either.

She walked into the door she was pointed to, locking it securely behind her.

On the shelf to her right were assorted trial sized packets of shampoos and conditioner, body wash and shaving cream. In pull drawers below were packets of body lotion and disposable razors. Helga selected packets of each, doubling up on the shampoo and body wash.

She lined up all the toiletries and turned on the water, letting it warm to the right temperature.

When she stepped in, she let out a sigh as the water hit her skin. She stayed in the shower until she had used every drop of soap.

After she had toweled off, she slipped into a pair of grey sweat pants and a black T-shirt and dumped her dirty clothes down the chute as instructed.

After she had brushed her hair and teeth, she stepped out of the wash room and was quickly greeted by an older looking lady in a business suit.

"Hello Helia" the woman greeted. "I'm Charlotte. And you've met Greg." She said motioning to the guy from the park.

"Yes" Helga replied, nodding.

"I'd like to talk to you, but first let's get you some food." Helga was left in a small office and instructed to 'make herself at home' while Charlotte found her some food.

Minutes later, Charlotte returned carrying a tray of food. A Heaping bowl of Chili and a peanut butter sandwich. She set they tray in front of Helga and handed her a spoon. She then pulled a small carton of chocolate milk from a mini fridge by her desk and placed it next to the tray.

"Go ahead, eat up." She smiled. "I want to ask you a few questions. How old are you Helia?"

"mpf- Twelve" Helga replied between mouthfuls. The Chili was warming her up from the inside, and definitely tasted better than cashews and candy.

"Twelve? Sweetie, you're just a child. Do you know where your parents are?"

Helga sat the spoon down on the table and cleared her throat. " My mother…is dead." She said simply, fighting back a sob. "I have nowhere to go." It was then that her brave act faltered, Helga curled up in her chair and sobbed loudly.

Charlotte gave Helga a sympathetic look. She wasn't expecting that explanation. She had just assumed the girl was another run away.

She got up from her desk to pat Helga on the back.

"It's late now, you can sleep here tonight. In the morning we'll look into finding you somewhere to stay."

Helga was led to a room with about 8 sets of bunk beds, half of them full. She claimed the top of an empty bunk and crawled up the ladder. She was asleep the instant her head hit the pillow.

At 8 am an alarm sounded, alerting all the teens that it was time for breakfast.

After stuffing her face with biscuits and gravy, she was called back into Charlotte's office.

"Good morning Helia how did you sleep?"

"Well, it was better than sleeping outside on a fire escape."

"Well, I wanted to let you know that have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I'm not able to find a permanent home for you until we are sure that no one is looking for you. The good news is that there is an opening in an orphanage across town. You'll be able to stay there until we're able to release you to a foster family."

"An orphanage?" Helga repeated quietly.

Two hours later, Helga found herself on the front porch of "Sunshine's Children's Home."

"Welcome, I'm Sister Mary Katherine," a nun greeted as Helga entered the building. Helga was then directed to yet another office while a file was created with her name on it. Under the name Helia Paterson.

~*~*~*~*~

Two months later, she was still at the orphanage.

The daily routine was something she had picked up fast. It was similar to what she had always imagined a military school to be like.

Awake at 6 am. Shower, dress and make her bed by 6:30.

6:30-7:00 was breakfast. Followed by dishes and other mundane housework.

At 8 classes started. English, Math, History and Science (the religious version).

At 12 there was a lunch break followed by more dishes.

Classes resumed until 5:30. 5:30-6 pm they were allowed time outside, which usually consisted of weeding the garden or mowing the lawn.

At 6 was dinner followed by a quick clean up of the entire house.

7 until bed time was used for homework.

Lights out was at 9.

Rinse and repeat.

She had become acquainted with some of the other residents, but didn't really have time to make friends.

When month four of her stay rolled around, she was feeling pretty hopeless at the prospect of ever leaving. Which was why she was surprised when Mary Katherine called her into her office on a cold day in Mid February.

"Helia, I'd like you to meet Mr. and Mrs. Meyer." The nun said gesturing towards the couple sitting inn from of her desk.

"Nice to meet you," Helga responded as Mr. Meyer shook her hand.

"I'm John and this is my wife Susan." The woman smiled at her. "We've heard a lot about you Helia and we wanted to know if you would like to come stay with us?"

Helga's eyes brightened instantly. "Really?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Phoebe was shoving her school books into her back pack, ready to head home for the weekend. She lifted the bag onto her shoulder, but struggled with the weight of the bag.

"Here let me help you with that" a voice came from beside her. She looked to see Arnold reaching out an arm.

"Sure thanks," She smiled weakly

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

"Oh you know, I'm ok. It's just hard sometimes. It seems like everyone has already forgotten about her."

Arnold touched her shoulder reassuringly, "I haven't forgotten. I'm sure no one else has either, sometimes it's just easier to put on a brave face and pretend everything is ok."

"You always know what to say Arnold. It's no wonder she loved you."

Arnold stopped walking. "She what?"

"Oh gosh I shouldn't have told you that. I'm mean to say liked you Arnold, you were a good friend to her. Even when she was not so friendly."

Arnold shrugged, "I always kind of guessed she had it rough. I never thought her home life was that bad though."

"'Was', listen to us talking about her in the past tense. I guess no one really expects for her to ever come home."


End file.
